That Exchange Program
by Lordess Meep
Summary: Two students, a boy and a girl come to Gakuen Alice for an exchange program! Now the boy is exactly like Natsume! What happens in the reunion of the clones? Read on!
1. Chapter 1

My first fan fic

My first fan fic!! Be nice to me plz….I'm sure I'll write some unnecessary rubbish..

Here, two students from the American branch of Gakuen

Alice arrive at the Japanese branch for an exchange program. Its just some imagination crap…I don't think its too good but I'm just writing this because this idea's been bugging me since quite some time. BTW, everyone here is 13. Read on, and don't mind my mistakes!! I've only read GA till ch-58 (no eng scans beyond that are to be found!!) so, there are bound to be some (gross – hopefully not!) errors.

**DISCLAIMER – Gakuen Alice is the property of Higuchi Tachibana-san. I can only wish to own it. **

**Chapter 1**

Ellie

The last thing I saw before I left for Japan from America was my best friend, Sam, waving me goodbye and telling me to have fun and not make a fool of myself. Before I could reply, everything around me went black. The next moment, I was standing outside this huge iron gate.

The guards still insisted on asking for id. I mean, when three people suddenly appear out of thin air in front of another Gakuen Alice, is it necessary to ask them for id? Even if one of them has clearly displayed his alice? Jordan, the teacher with the teleportation alice who brought us here, was unfazed and with a cheery smile informed me that they were only being careful. I read his not-so-cheery mind and he was thinking the exact same thing as I was.

After we had gained access, Nathan, my partner in this whole exchange student thing, was looking surly. But then again, he had not given me much proof that this wasn't his natural facial expression. He almost always looked like that. Even when I cracked jokes. Like I did now. As usual, he sprayed me with water which came out of his finger. His alice is a water/ice alice. I really don't know its specific function, but it pretty much allows him to freeze things and produce lots of water. And that is bad because he uses it on me mostly.

I let out a war cry and was about to whip out my trusty water cannon when I realized that I had shrank (okay…I don't know if its correct grammar) all my belongings with my shrink ray to make them easy to carry. At this point Nathan, who was looking at me interestedly, trying to guess what I was going to do next when Jordan told me to stop taking out weird noises. Nathan chuckled (evilly, of course) and shot more water at me.

After a few minutes of walking, the three of us are admitted into an office. A very effeminate teacher comes and greets Jordan.

"Jordan! How nice to see you!", he says in perfect Japanese.

"I feel the same Narumi." says our teacher in broken Japanese.

"_Is he a woman?? Wait, is it an it?" _I read Nathan's mind.

"I know." I reply.

Nathan eyes me weirdly.

"What?" I say defensively.

"Stop reading my mind!", he says.

"It's not my fault…you don't speak!! I wanted to know what was going on in your mind!!"

"Learn to respect people's privacy.", he says turning away. In his head he adds, "_What an idiot!_"

"I heard that…"

"So, what's your name?" Narumi turns his attention to me.

"It's Allison. But I prefer Ellie." I reply in Japanese.

"Ah..your Japanese is quite good." he remarks.

It better be. I didn't read those countless manga and watch those countless anime for nothing.

"Thanks." I say rewarding him with my cheesiest smile.

"And what your name?" he asks Nathan with unprecedented enthusiasm.

"Nathan." comes a gruff no-nonsense reply.

"_Hmm…whom does he remind me of?"_ thinks Narumi. I really should quit the whole mind reading thing.

"Well, I'll lead these two to class." he says.

"Nathan, Ellie, behave yourselves and don't give people much trouble. See you in two months!" are Jordan's parting words.

His parting thought is a different thing – "_Yes!! I'm rid of them!! Two whole months!!"_

Now that explains why we were chosen to represent the Academy.

It was a bit of an anti-climax when two months ago Nathan and I, the most annoying kids of our class (with me, reading out people's thoughts without their permission and attacking random people with my inventions and Nathan, glaring at random people, often for no reason, freezing/soaking people who annoyed him, causing major stampedes due to natural good looks and messing with me. The latter usually caused major wars.) were chosen to go on an exchange trip to Japan. I guess Jordan thought that we will be angry and will demand a change or some rubbish like that. He was SO wrong. We were practically falling over ourselves (okay I was. I mean manga / anime/sushi!! Nathan wasn't – it violated his code of absolute seriousness. But I read his mind…he was plenty excited. ) to go.

The only thing I wasn't very excited about was going with the one person I absolutely detested. I wanted Sam to come instead, but she promptly refused. So did Jordan when I sneakily went to his office in order to convince him.

Nathan and I have been fighting since the first day I entered the academy. That was when I was five and I entered the academy with my brother, Alex, who was three. It was what they call hate at first sight. We still fight like crazy but somehow…

No, I don't want to get into that…its too scary. And strange. Not to mention creepy on so many levels.

"Bye sir!!" I say with much enthusiasm. He's going to get it once I return.

"This way," says Narumi and motions us to follow him. A sick feeling in my stomach creeps up again. I think it's my nerves. We follow him to the class anyway. He opens the door of his class and we follow him in me, shutting the door behind me.

"Good morning, class!" Narumi greets the kids which much enthusiasm.

"Good morning!" reply the kids which almost the same level of enthusiasm. Rare. Never seen something like this back home.

"Class, may I introduce you to our exchange students. They've come all the way from America and they'll be spending two months with us. Please introduce yourselves to the class" he says, pushing me forward.

I consider saying something like, "Hello Tokyo!!" all rock star style. Putting that aside, I settle for something more conformist.

"Hi, I'm Allison Walker; you can call me Ellie, though. I have the mind reading alice and the alice of invention. My star ranking is three. Nice to meet you all." I consider finishing with a bow but I put that aside.

"_What a show-off!" _thinks Nathan.

Instead of pummeling him like I usually do, I smile at him and beckon him forward to introduce himself. I was pretty curious as to what he was going to say. Just for the record, when his turn came, almost all the girls sat up straighter and looked at him with doe eyes. I know, I'm not as good looking (not to mention grouchy) as him but I hate being told that publicly. The entire class seemed to be thinking the same thing and some of them also wondered, _"Whom does he remind me of?"_

"I'm Nathan Hampton." he says.

"Well, both of you can take seats there," says Narumi pointing towards to empty seats in the second last row.

"Get along well class!" he says leaving.

Just as he leaves, nearly the entire class comes to greet us (I think I've made them nice. Let's see what I can do about this). Hmm. Maybe it's not so bad. A green haired girl looks at Nathan with a look which I can only describe as lovelorn then turns to whisper to her friend. An auburn haired girl catches me looking there and says, "That happens all the time." I smile and nod as if I know what she is talking about.

"I'm Sakura Mikan." she says smiling at me.

I return her open and honest smile and reply, "I'm Ellie. As you heard just now."

"You know, you have the same alice as Hotaru." she motions towards her dark haired friend.

My eyes are wide open in surprise.

"Hotaru, as in Imai Hotaru??" I ask her.

She nods with motherly pride and I turn my attention towards Hotaru who is working on something.

"You know, Hotaru-chan, can I call you that?" she nods in approval and I continue, "I've heard so much about you from my friend, Mr. Kleats."

Mikan looks confused.

"He's my sales manager. My brother and I sell our inventions, we have the same alices, " I add, "to him. And he tells us so much about you and your inventions are incredible. They sell like hot cakes in America."

Hotaru is pleased with my information. But when Mikan turns to hug Hotaru (at the same time exclaiming, "Hotaru!! You're famous!!"), she whips out this cannon shaped thing, aims it at Mikan and fires. A boxing glove shaped thing flies out of it and hits Mikan on the head at the same time emitting the sound of "BAKA!!"

"Whoa!! What's that??" I ask fascinated.

Hotaru puts on a pig shaped hat and with a ruler in her hand says, "Invention No. 004 (just guessing) – The Baka Cannon. Designed to hit idiots specifically. It's variant is the more portable Baka Gun."

Okaaaayyy. What's that about?

At this point, I turn my attention towards Nathan who is not doing too well. He's surrounded by fan girls. As usual. There's the sound of skin slapping against wood right behind me. I turn around only to find a boy who looks exactly like Nathan staring at Nathan. Seriously. They can pass off as twins!!

The same dark hair, in bangs, the same face structure, and nearly the same physique!! Except the eye colour. This clone of Nathan had crimson irises while Nathan has green. A really pretty colour, really.

And when looked closely, I was shocked to notice the same cold eyes. You know, hiding all the pain and suffering kind of thing.

Apparently, I am not the only one who has noticed this bizarre phenomenon. The class is silent. All of them think the same thing, _"Oh…so that's who he looks like!!"_

"Listen kid, what's your alice?" he says.

He even speaks like him!!

"Who are you calling a kid, shorty? And why must I tell _you _my alice?"

"I'm calling you a kid. And you're no taller than I am."

"Natsume!!" says Mikan angrily.

Oh…so this guy here was Natsume.

"Do you really need to fight every where you go?" I ask Nathan, "Just nicely tell him what your alice is."

Mikan is appealing to Natsume over my head.

"Why do you have to be rude to people? Being nice doesn't hurt, you know."

"Okay, so I'll nicely force it out of him!" says Natsume, producing a ball of fire.

Nathan, pumped up by this (I've never seen him more enthusiastic) says calmly, "You don't need to do that. I'll nicely show it to you!!"

He produces a ball of water roughly the same size (if not larger) as Natsume's ball of fire.

This wasn't going to be pretty.


	2. Chapter 2

Recap of Chapter 1 - Ellie

"Okay, so I'll nicely force it out of him!" says Natsume, producing a ball of fire.

Nathan, pumped up by this (I've never seen him more enthusiastic) says calmly, "You don't need to do that. I'll nicely show it to you!!"

He produces a ball of water roughly the same size (if not larger) as Natsume's ball of fire.

This wasn't going to be pretty.

**DISCLAIMER – Gakuen Alice is the property of Higuchi Tachibana-san. I can only wish to own it. **

Chapter 2

Mikan

This morning was like every other morning. My alarm clock ditched me; I accidentally wore my clothes inside-out and I bumped into Natsume just as I was about to enter class. He pointed out another thing, "So…its strawberries today, huh?"

And I chased him down. Or at least, tried to.

It's becoming a routine. A very tedious (yet strangely enjoyable – not the underwear part) routine.

I was thinking that this day would be like any other day. But today, two exchange students showed up!! I was sitting in my seat trying to catch Hotaru's attention (she was working on another invention) when she hit me with her Baka Cannon.

"BAKA!"

"Hotaru!! Why do you hit me with that thing all the time?!" I cried.

"Because I don't like idiots." she said and continued to work.

Narumi-sensei entered with two students. One was a very attractive girl. She had dark hair with red highlights and when Narumi-sensei made her sit behind me I noticed she had very pretty violet eyes. The other was a boy whose overall attitude reminded me of someone. Who, I have no idea.

After Narumi-sensei left class everyone came forward to greet them. The girl, Ellie, has the same alice as Hotaru!! And she said that Hotaru is very popular in America! I'm so proud of Hotaru. I tried to use this opportunity to hug my best friend in the whole world but she hit me with her Baka Cannon again. Ellie is also very nice to talk to. But the boy, Nathan, is very popular with the girls. Just like Natsume and Ruka. I don't know why but just as we were talking Natsume became very angry and told Nathan to tell him his alice.

What's his problem?

I tried to stop him but he told me he'd force Nathan to spit out his alice. He's such a meanie. How can he talk to people like that? That's the first time they've met! But they do look a lot alike. Ah…so that's who he reminded me of!!

And that's the story till now. From where I stand, Nathan and Natsume are facing each other with a ball of water and fire respectively.

"Natsume, stop this now!" I say.

"Too late, Strawberry-pattern." he says, consequently embarrassing me in public.

Ellie, who is standing in front of me, looks at him incredulously. I can do nothing but scowl at him. The class stands back knowing what would happen if that ball of fire hit them. There's no telling what that ball of water would do either.

"Nathan, put that down!" says Ellie.

"Shut up!" says Nathan, "That shorty is annoying me."

That's when he throws that ball of water.

What happens next, I cannot say. The entire room is filled with steam. "Now that's what happens when fire reacts with water." says Ellie.

I look (or try to…the steam's rather dense) at her for an explanation.

"The fire ball and water ball collided in midair and this is what happened." she turns to Nathan, "See? I told you to stop! This is what happens when you don't listen to me!"

"You're not my boss." says Nathan.

"But I only try to give you some sound advice which you _always_ ignore!"

Someone whips out something which sounds like a vacuum cleaner and the steam starts to disperse. Hotaru, of course. She's so smart…she always has the situation under control.

"Ahh!!" screams Ellie as normal vision returns, "You two have soaked me through!!"

"Me too!" I say, supporting her.

The entire class complains as well. Except Hotaru who is wearing a raincoat.

"Oh…" says Natsume, tossing a fire ball casually, "So you're a walking fountain!"

Some people snigger. Ellie on the other hand whispers to him, "See. I was right!"

Nathan is unfazed.

"What about you, you shorty volcano! You keep blowing up like there's no tomorrow."

Natsume looks angry. The class laughs openly at this one.

"Don't call me shorty, kid! Or else…"

"Or else what, shorty? You'll spew some more fire on me?? Sorry, doesn't scare me…shorty."

"TAKE IT OUTSIDE YOU TWO!!" screams Ellie. I'm shocked. No one's ever screamed at Natsume like this. Not even me.

It appears the rest of the class is shocked too. Ellie doesn't notice this and turns to us, "Hotaru-chan, Mikan-chan, is there any place we can change out of these clothes?"

"Hey!" says Nathan, "Stop interrupting!"

Ellie turns to look at Hotaru.

"Can I borrow this?" she says, picking up the Baka Cannon.

"Ten Rabbits per shot." replies Hotaru.

"Sure."

She then aims it at Nathan and Natsume and lets off two shots.

"BAKA! BAKA!"

They hit right on target.

"Now you two need to relax for a while." she turns to Hotaru, "Twenty Rabbits it is. Now let's go and change!!"

She's totally unaware of what she's just done.

I hang back to look at the damage. I'm so glad, Hotaru hardly ever hits me with the Baka Cannon. Thank God he prefers the Baka Gun. At such close range, they must've suffered some damage. After all, they're out cold. Ruka checks Natsume's pulse while Yuu checks Nathan's. Permy and the rest of the "Natsume and Ruka fanclub" (I think its going to be "Natsume, Ruka and Nathan fanclub" pretty soon) are hovering above the two.

"Natsume-kun, Nathan-kun, are you okay?? Speak to me!!" says Permy.

"They aren't going to wake up for quite sometime." Hotaru informs everyone at large, "Ellie, that was quite some shot."

"I really like your Baka Cannon. It's pretty useful. Can you give me the blueprints? I want to make one for myself."

"Sure."

"Mikan. Are you coming?"

I turn around and find Hotaru and Ellie waiting for me by the door.

"Yeah." I say as I rush towards them.

Hotaru takes us to her room.

"Hey Mikan, get some clothes for Ellie to change into." she says.

Ellie shakes her head and motions me to return.

"That's okay…I have my clothes here." she says taking out a small box from her skirt pocket.

"Here?" I ask her in disbelief.

"Actually, I used my shrink ray to shrink my things. Easier to carry, you know. What I want to know is where my room is."

"Oh I'll show you that." I volunteer.

I take her out into the corridor and lead her into an empty three star room.

Here, she places her box in the centre of the room and then takes out a credit card sized thing. She then presses some buttons and aims at the box. In an instant, the box grows to the size of a bed.

"That was my shrink ray. I reversed the controls, so now it enlarges things." she informs me.

"What other things do you have?" I ask her, curious.

"I'll have to settle my things…" she says painfully.

I understand. Settling in is very hard.

"I'll help you." I offer.

"Its okay…it'll be troublesome for you."

"Come on! Besides, I really want to see the stuff you've invented!"

"Okay…if you insist…"

"We'll be missing class…" I try to tempt her.

"Now that you mention it…I'm ready to settle my stuff!"

She opens the lid of the box and takes out a small robot in the shape of a small reindeer. She turns it on and places it on her bed. The reindeer comes to life. Its eyes light up, it twists itself into various positions (apparently stretching) and then shakes its head violently. He then looks at me then Ellie and says "Hello, Ellie. Where are we?"

"It speaks!!" I scream.

It looks at me and says "I can also tap dance if you want!"

Ellie glares at the reindeer.

"Ah, Chopper, stop teasing her!" she says.

"I'm only telling her of my functions!" the reindeer says defensively.

"Chopper?" I ask.

"His name is Toni Toni Chopper. He prefers Chopper. I modeled him after that reindeer from One Piece. Do you read it?" she asks me.

"No."

"Ah…that's okay. He's got a wacky personality. He's my first creation. I carry him with me everywhere." She then turns to Chopper and in a commanding voice says, "Arrange my things for me. Just like back at home."

It cocks its head and looks at Ellie questioningly.

"Home?"

"We're in Japan. I was going for an exchange trip, remember?"

"Oh." the reindeer says, realization dawning upon him. Then with a gesture which closely resembles a salute, he says "I'm on the job." And starts to takes out Ellie's things.

"Why did you tell me we had to arrange things?"

"I was trying to make an excuse…I don't like making him work."

"So why is he working?"

"I didn't want you to miss class because of me."

I smile. She is pretty nice.

"Wait here while I change, okay?" she says taking out her clothes from the closet which Chopper had so neatly arranged.

As I wait, I watch Chopper rush around putting Ellie's various things neatly. He was done before Ellie was done changing. He then walks over to Ellie's bedside table and pulls out a few wrapped chocolates. "Here." he says offering me some.

"No. That's okay." I say obviously alarmed. Well, won't you be if some reindeer robot offered you chocolates?

"I'm sorry, you'll have to take at least one. Ellie tells me to always attend to her guests and make them feel comfortable."

Well, that's nice. I pick a chocolate and unwrap it. I'm about to sink my teeth into it when Ellie walks in.

"Oh…nice to see my room again." She eyes my chocolate and turns to Chopper.

"And Chopper, good to see you remembering basic etiquettes."

I bite into the chocolate. Mmm…delicious velvety sweet chocolate. Almost as good as Howalon. Nothing can beat Howalon.

"You like it?" asks Ellie, "These are some of the chocolates which I brought from America. Care for some more?"

"No, its okay." I say as she reaches for some. She picks up two.

"Chopper, take care of the room while I'm gone and be sure to rest for a while."

"Aye, Aye sir."

"He's funny." I say to her.

"Yeah…I know." she says smiling proudly, "Let's go to class then? But first, we must pick up Hotaru. I've to give her her chocolate."

"That's for her?"

"Yeah," she says through a mouthful of chocolate, "She should have some fun too, right?"

I smile at her. She really is nice.

"Right." I say.

On our way to Hotaru's room, we find her in the corridor. Ellie offers Hotaru chocolate, which she gladly takes and scarf's it down in one bite.

"Thanks." says Hotaru.

"Don't mention it." says Ellie, "We should go to class now."

"I've been thinking." says Hotaru.

"What?" I ask, curious.

She ignores me and turns to Ellie.

"I have an offer to make."

"What?" asks Ellie, curious as well.

"I have a Baka Cannon which I made recently. I can give it to you for free if you carry out a job of mine. Mikan," she says spotting me, clearly eavesdropping. I put on my best innocent face.

"Yes?"

"You can join in too."

"I can?? Yay!!"

I am happy. Hotaru's never included me in any of her projects. She says I'm too clumsy.

"I'm SO on it!! I need that thing to hit people with!!" exclaims Ellie, her eyes shining at the prospect. Weird. How can she like violence of that sort?

"Hurry tell me Hotaru!! I really want the Baka Cannon!!" says Ellie, eagerly.

"Okay."

She then tells us.

As we reach the class, I notice that everything is back to normal. Except Nathan and Natsume. They're lying on the floor just as before.

"Why aren't they up??" I ask Ruka, alarmed. What's happened?! Are they dead??

"They aren't dead." says Ellie.

Did she read my mind??

"I have the mind reading alice, just in case you were wondering."

"Oh."

"They're fine. They'll just take some time to come to their senses."

And when they do, it's going to be big trouble for Ellie. In the case of Natsume, definitely.

And Hotaru, chooses this moment to execute about one percent (maybe lesser) of her new project.

We are all having a fine time until Yuu points out something slightly disturbing.

"Hey," he says to everyone at large, "Isn't it Jin-Jin's class next?"

**P.S. – Thank you for reading!! Your reviews will be greatly appreciated!! That will just show that someone's reading my work.**


	3. Chapter 3

Recap of Chapter 2 – Mikan

Recap of Chapter 2 – Mikan

And Hotaru, chooses this moment to execute about one percent (maybe lesser) of her new project.

We are all having a fine time until Yuu points out something slightly disturbing.

"Hey," he says to everyone at large, "Isn't it Jin-Jin's class next?"

**DISCLAIMER – Gakuen Alice is the property of Higuchi Tachibana-san. I can only wish to own it. **

Chapter 3

Ellie

I like Math. Why? That's because I'm not very good at the whole 'learning-by-heart' stuff. In Math, all you have to do is grasp the dang concept, then sit on a table with music blaring in your ears and do the sums.

That's it. Easy as pie.

So, when a bespectacled boy (who is called Yuu Tobita) announced that it was "Jin-Jin's" class next, I was confused.

"Who's Jin-Jin?" I ask the class.

"He's our Math teacher." replies a blond, blue-eyed boy (who really reminded me of Max, Nathan's best friend) called Ruka.

As of now, the class is debating over whether to take Nathan and Natsume to hospital. Okay, so I knocked them out. With Hotaru's Baka Cannon, no less. It has a surprising amount of power packed within it, by the way. Also, the cannon reflex is minimum.

Thank God, Hotaru's giving me one of these. I think I'll be able to keep Nathan quiet and under control. I believe this Natsume person is going to need a good dose of it as well. Hotaru offered me the cannon in exchange for Nathan's pictures. I accepted but we did debate a bit over the percentage of money Mikan and I are going to get for them. We settled for 10-10-80 (Hotaru has a manic hunger for money. But, I didn't argue with her…she seems to be one of those kinds of people you don't want to rival. I mean, just look at that cannon!). She's going to sell them to people, apparently.

Hmm…when I return home, I'll do the same to Max's and Nathan's pictures.

Anyway, Mikan is going to be taking Natsume's, Hotaru Ruka's and I will be taking Nathan's. I'm almost sure these photographs are going to sell like hot cakes. I mean, check out the attention Nathan was getting! And Natsume and Ruka (he's like cute girl…awww…) are as good looking as Nathan, so I'm sure they must be getting a fair share of attention too. Hotaru may be money hungry, but she sure is a marketing genius.

Where was I? Yeah…the bodies. Hotaru is taking their pictures currently. I feel partially…okay, okay _wholly _responsible for this incident. I must do something about them.

"Hey, I'll get them to the hospital, okay?" I tell the class, unwillingly.

Thank god, at that very instant they start stirring.

Whew! I wouldn't have to take them!!

"What the-", says Nathan, waking up to a camera flash in his face.

Hotaru stows away her camera. Natsume, also, gets up and rubs his head.

Just then a man enters the class with a frog on his left shoulder which croaks with every step he takes. This place really is weird. He gives everything in the class the death stare (a.k.a. the get-back-in-your-seats-now-or-else look). Everyone silently obeys including the injured party.

Nathan gives me a death stare of his own variety (you don't want to know what it looks like) and thinks, _"I'm going to get you for this."_

It kind of stinks when someone knows when you're going to read their mind and flashes the appropriate threat in their heads.

I smile at him and then am about to look at "Jin-Jin" again when I feel something. Something intense behind me.

I look behind only to see a furious Natsume staring at me. And to top it all off, thinking, _"I'm going to burn you to crisp."_

Um. Creepy.

I feel that when I fired off those two shots, I also fired off my chances of peaceful existence.

What have I done with my life?!

What's worse is that there are two of them! So, when I look back at the teacher, I can feel two pair of eyes staring me down. One from my right, the other behind me.

Great.

The teacher (Jinno is the name, I just heard someone use it) starts off with congruency of triangles (I'm sorry, it's been a while since 8th grade Math…this is what I remember from when I was 13). Thank god, I have done this topic at home. Now I can at leisure, plan my counter attack against my nemeses.

Too bad, I haven't got a pen or a paper. I can't make diagrams!! I've noted that when I make diagrams of any of my revenge operations (mostly against Nathan) they're almost always a success.

Looks like I'll just have to stare this class out.

After an hour of lengthy Math (I've never been so bored) Jinno (FINALLY!!), gets ready to leave the class. But before he leaves he asked me how I liked his lesson.

I find lying hard under this present circumstance. But, I manage to say, "It was good sir." with a relatively straight face.

The best way to show a teacher that you were listening is ask a complicated doubt. I ask him something about the lesson (in a twisted manner) and after five most anguishing minutes of his life, he gives up and with a pained expression, informs me he'll "work it out" in the next lesson.

"I liked his expression just as he left class." Ruka informs me. I turn around (and ignoring the stares) and say, "It's always easy to confuse people."

A bell rings and Mikan's stomach grumbles in response.

"Lunch, huh?" says Natsume and gets up from his seat. Whew!! At least he stopped staring!

"Come on Ruka," he says walking past Nathan.

However, just as Ruka gets up from his seat, Natsume turns around and looks at Nathan.

"Hey," he says,"You come too."

Was it me, or was it for real? Nathan being called upon by this being who looked exactly like him. What is this, a twin's reunion?

What was more surprising was the fact that Nathan yielded! I think those two went bonkers when that thing hit their heads. Or more likely, are united under a cause – M.A.W.L.H.F.N.O.S.S.E.U.I.P (Make Allison Walker's Life Hell From Now On Since She Embarrassed Us In Public). Maybe they just found friendship in between the fire and water balls. Not to mention the scowls. Or the glares.

The world as we know it is coming to an end.

As the three most handsome boys leave the class, a horde of fan girls follow them out. And I stare after them, my jaw tastefully unhinged.

"Ellie, lets go for lunch!" says Mikan in her carefree voice.

Is it just me who is making a big fat (not to mention, hairy) deal out of it?

"Sure." I say snapping my mouth shut and getting off my seat.

On our way for lunch, a lot of people introduce themselves to me. Anna, Nonoko, Koko and a lot of other people whose names I don't remember.

After five minutes, I find myself in a rather uncomfortable position, trying to eat my three star meal. With Nathan sitting beside me and Natsume opposite me, throwing me wicked stares and evil grins every chance they get, I can hardly eat my food in peace.

I need paper. And a pen. I need to make a revenge diagram to make me feel safer. Those two are like hounds, sniffing out my fears.

After lunch, I begin to run off to my room when Mikan screams for me.

"ELLIE!"

"Huh?"

I turn around only to find Mikan running after me.

"What, Mikan?" I ask her with a bright smile decorating my face.

Yeah. Miss There's-nothing-wrong-today. That's me.

"Hotaru told you wait here. We have to talk about our project."

Ouch. With Nathan's current temperament, how was I going to get his pictures?

"She's getting your Baka Cannon."

I perk up with this vital piece of information.

"Sweet!" I say, rubbing my hands in glee.

Mikan eyes me warily. I know. I don't blame her. _I'm_ scaring me.

Hotaru walks into us. She hands me my brand new Baka Cannon.

"Thanks!!" I say hugging her happily. Anything which can be utilized for self-defense is good thing.

"Yeah." she says, pulling back, "Sure."

"Hey, you guys wanna come to my room?" I ask them.

"Yeah, Hotaru, let's go!" says Mikan.

We drag Hotaru to my room. The feeling of safety descends upon my as soon as I enter my safe Haven. It's cooler than outside because Chopper has turned on my portable air conditioner. It's powered by solar energy. A practical design, really. The hotter the day is, the better it works. Its charger usually hangs outside so that it can collect sunlight.

"Hey, guys," I tell the two girls who are hanging about, half in the room, half out, "Come on in. Make yourselves home. You can sit there." I point towards the two mattresses a little distance off my bed. Chopper's placed them end to end and put lots of cushions making it rather comfortable. They're seven inches thick, so whoever sits on it won't really feel the floor.

I sit on my bed and look around once. Perfect. With the air conditioner on, the two lamps on the either side of my bed reflecting patterns on the walls, the sun streaming through my dark orange curtains making everything in the room appear a pretty shade of red and Chopper sleeping in a basket at the foot of my bed, I finally feel my tense muscles relax.

It's always good to be home.

"Hey, these are really soft!" exclaims Mikan as she presses her cheeks into a cushion.

"I know. My friend, Sam, gave this entire set for my birthday."

"Let's get to the point," says Hotaru, suddenly business-like, "Try to get as many pictures as you can. The more they're in their personal lives the better they'll sell. So we have to make a great profit."

I nod in approval. I need the money to buy gifts for everyone back home.

"Now, I assume you guys have a camera of your own."

"Yeah." I say. I have many cameras infact. All of my own design. Except one, my first ever camera which I bought with my money.

The one which I favour the most is my 8.1 mega pixel one which I only developed recently. It's got all kinds of functions too – red eye, super steady shot, intelligent image recognition, you name it.

"No." says Mikan.

I'm about to extend my generosity to her by offering one of mine when I remember the rest of them are locked up in my lab back in America.

Hotaru glares at her.

"Didn't I give you one on your birthday?" she says, tapping her Baka Gun.

"I broke it." says Mikan, cowering. Poor thing. Thankfully, Hotaru forgives her.

"Forget it," she says, waving her free hand dismissively, "I'll lend you one of mine. I have some pressing business to take care of. See you guys."

She gets up and with a wave of her hand leaves my room.

Mikan hangs her head.

"I should be going too." she says.

"Ah, that's a shame." I say shaking my head. This means I'll have to work!

"Hey, will you be free this Saturday?" she asks me suddenly.

"Yeah, why?"

"Do you want to come to Central Town? A bunch of us will be visiting."

"Sure. Thanks for the invite."

I smile at her and see her off.

Chopper immediately gets up from his 'bed' and sits on mine.

"What's the schedule?" I ask him, stretching.

"You have to fix your Hover Board and then practice riding it."

"I'll ride it after 4:00. What else you got?"

"Ring up your Mom."

"I'll do that at night."

"Tell Alex to fix his Hover-craft."

"Okay. Cut that from the list."

"There are no more notes on your schedule."

Thank God. Fixing the Hover Board would take quite sometime.

I take out my video-phone (my Dad's design. He gave one to Alex and one to me so that we could keep in touch with our parents and not grow apart like they did with theirs. It's a nice feeling knowing that you still have a family looking out for you.) and punch in the code for Alex's. He picks up in two rings.

"Hey sis," he says smiling into the screen.

"I have to remind you to fix your Hover Craft."

"Yeah, I was just doing that. So how's your trip going?"

"Not much. I just met this guy who looks EXACTLY like Nathan."

"Oh…so you're dropping him, eh?" he says letting out a laugh.

I don't know what has given him the idea that I like Nathan. What is there to like in him given the constant sense of danger he puts me in?

"Sam is at it again. How many times do I have to tell you not to listen to her stupid ideas? _Especially_ this one!!"

"Aw, come on. Why do you keep denying the fact?"

"Why would I like him? Really, why??"

"Then why were you soooo excited to go?? Alone on a trip with him??"

It kind of sucks when your younger brother can read your mind. I mean, I'm sure he'll use this thing to blackmail me in future.

"I didn't think anything of that sort." I say through gritted teeth.

"Did so. I have the proof on footage."

"You were using that Brainwave Camera thing?"

"Yeah. It works surprisingly well. Want me to make a copy of that?"

"Wait till I get back. I'm going to destroy it."

"See ya."

He severs the connection, his laugh booming in my ears.

Why does everyone think that way? At least as far as people back at home are concerned. I mean, Alex was even blabbing to Mom going, "Mom, do you Ellie has a boyfriend?" and then giving him her details.

To get even, I told her all about Danielle, the girl he likes. But Mom now knows about the two of us and every time we call her, she teases us and so does Dad. And of course, Sam keeps spreading these strange rumours about the two of us. Come on, I beat him up practically everyday. Is that how two people in love are supposed to behave?

Frustrated by this thought, I get to my Hover Craft.

It's fixed by 4:00 and as per my schedule, Chopper reminds me to go and practice. I change into some decent clothes and then with my Hover Board under an arm I get to the plain field outside. A Hover Board, just by the way, is much like a skateboard, only without wheels. It goes higher and faster, works on air thrust and needs to be charged for five minutes each day. Plus, it's retractable and an ideal transport system. For Alex and I, at least.

I get to the ground and get on it. Riding a Hover Board requires much co-ordination. Once I get into the air, the cool wind flapping against my face, it feels relaxing. And I feel in control. Well, at least until something clicks in my brain and I remember Alex's words.

"Why do you keep denying the fact?"

That's when I nearly lose my balance.

Even without being there, he can manage to hurt me in ways I don't want to describe.

With my concentration shot, I go and sit under a tree. Looking ahead, I see a forest and climb onto the tree. Once I'm sitting on a hefty branch, I look over the trees (The Northern Forest, they call it) and a sense of calm drapes itself all over me. Sitting on a high place, looking into the horizon almost always gives me this feeling of power.

I sit there till its dinner. Jumping off the tree, I practice landing on my Hover Board once before I rush to the dorms. Even without doing anything, I'm starved. Dinner comes with the same uncomfortable position as lunch, but this time for different reasons. For one thing, what Alex had said to me was running my mind like an endless, ever-repeating marquee. And for another, Nathan was there, right beside me.

I am so letting myself go. Sam is running my brain for me!!

I get off the dinner table early.

"Excuse me." I say leaving the table and heading for my room.

I open the door and after locking it from inside call my mother up. She picks up immediately.

"Hey Mom."

"Ellie! Hello…how's your trip going?" She gives me a knowing smile.

"Mom, c'mon…you know I don't feel like that about Nathan." I say with a breezy laugh. Or with something that resembles a breezy laugh.

"Honey, I wasn't talking about him."

Shoot. Me and my big mouth.

The conversation kind of loses its meaning for me from then on. After talking to my mother for fifteen minutes about god knows what she puts the phone down.

I have no idea how a small thing like a sentence put my brain in neutral. Seriously. Since that conversation in the afternoon, it's been messing with my head indefinitely. And this isn't the only time it's happened. Four times in the last month. Something is wrong with me.

When I admitted that to Sam just before we left she just hugged me and in a happy voice said, "My little Ellie has grown up!!"

When I pushed her away and asked her what she was talking about she just said, "Its love fever." I choked. I gagged. I bawled. Nothing moved Sam's mind. She was convinced I am in love.

Yeah. _Right_.

With everything out of way, I go outside into the balcony. Clear night sky. Haven't seen that in quite a while. I climb up to the roof and I'm about to lie down on the tiles when I see someone sitting there. Someone I didn't want to see.

--

**Author's Note:** For all those who have been following this, I'm sorry for the late updates. I'm not getting much time to put down the story. And since my father will be coming in from abroad, I won't have any more time. I will, definitely try to write as much as I can. My best bet is waiting for a laptop – It'll be personal and I can type without fighting with my brother.

For those of you who think the story isn't interesting enough, please be patient. I'm only laying down the foundation for now. After things have been stabilized, only then can I build upon the story in a proper manner. And please tell me whose narration do you prefer – Ellie's or Mikan's. I for one prefer Ellie's anytime since she is my character and I can bend her in any way I like. For Mikan's I'll have to stick by rules because if I don't she won't be the character of Tachibana-san. And I'm definitely having parts from the point of views of Nathan and Natsume because they're crucial to the story too.

All I can say is please be patient with me. If you have anything to say, anything at all, please write a review. I'll get motivated for one and for another; all your reviews will help me grow as a writer. Thank you for reading!!


	4. Chapter 4

Recap of Chapter 3 – Ellie

Recap of Chapter 3 – Ellie

With everything out of way, I go outside into the balcony. Clear night sky. Haven't seen that in quite a while. I climb up to the roof and I'm about to lie down on the tiles when I see someone sitting there. Someone I didn't want to see.

**DISCLAIMER – Gakuen Alice is the property of Higuchi Tachibana-san. I can only wish to own it. **

Chapter 4

Ellie

Yes. Natsume. My luck is turning.

I asked not see Nathan and what do I get as a replacement?

His clone.

Life is cruel.

As I sit on the tiles, he stares at me as if I'm an alien who has been beamed down from another planet. I don't know what happens to me at that moment because then I extend my hand and say, "Hi. I believe we didn't get introduced properly. I'm Ellie."

He ignores me and just says, "Whatever."

Well, that's good. He isn't bent on pummeling me.

I lie down on the rooftop, a safe distance from Natsume and just look up to the great heavens. At that moment, I feel all the muscles in my body loosen and calm descends over me. I'm hoping this time it'd last longer than usual. But since I'm next to a ticking human fireball, it seems unlikely.

Time passes in a non linear fashion from where I'm floating about in my thoughts. And the tension in the air can be cut with a knife. After what seems like an eternity, Natsume finally speaks.

"Hey." he says in that cold voice of his which can send shivers down your spine (despite this warm night).

"Hm?"

"Get out of here. You're annoying."

"I didn't do anything!!"

"Your presence is annoying."

"You don't have to be so rude!" I sit up and say, "I'm staying right here!!"

"Whatever." he says.

Is it me, or is this guy weird?

I long to know what is going inside his twisted brain but it feels that if I read his mind, he'd come to know and then I'd have to face the scary consequences.

I begin to feel sleepy all of a sudden. I'm about to give in when I realize that Nathan wasn't here.

You see, almost every night, Nathan and I watch the stars like this. Don't ask me why we do this, but we do. We've been doing this since we were six. A hard habit to break. So, every night like this, I'd fall asleep and when Nathan would try to wake me up, I'd just mutter something and go back to sleep. Since then, he's been piggy-backing me to my room and then after tucking me in leaving.

Well, I enjoyed seeing him suffer under my sheer weight so sometimes, I'd just pretend to be asleep. So it was on one of these nights that Alex caught this evidence on tape and has been blackmailing Nathan like crazy. I heard one of these once. He said something like, "You mess with my sister, you're going to get it." Sweet, huh? Then, for a price, he told him of ways to annoy me. Little brothers are pests. One needs exterminators for _them _not rats.

Of course, he told Sam. She loved this bit of gossip.

Lost in my thoughts, I laboriously get up and am about to climb off when Natsume opens his mouth to say something. I look at him curiously but then he shuts his mouth and looks up again.

"Hey, Natsume, you should get to sleep, now." I say, concerned.

"Hm." he says, his eyes suddenly soft.

I'd give anything to know what was going on his mind but, I really _hate_ pain.

"Good Night!" I say in a semi cheerful mode and then climb down into my room.

Once in my room, I fling myself into bed and after ordering Chopper to turn off the lights, I feel my self slip into to deep slumber.

**SuSpEnDeDiNaNiMaTiOn:**_ Now…entering Ellie's dream!! _

Ellie is sitting in her class next to her best friend, Sam, when Nathan enters the room and sits behind her. He then splashes water in her face, laughs as she gets mad and chases him around and then runs off.

"Sam, he makes me so mad!!" says Ellie, squeezing water from her skirt.

"But you still like him, don't you?" says Sam and suddenly, the world goes pitch black. Sam disappears and Ellie sits in the darkness.

"I don't." she says in a low voice.

"You do!" comes Alex's voice, cutting the dark, "Then why do you get so happy when you're with him??"

"I'm never happy when I'm with that fool!!"

"I've got evidence on tape."

Then Alex, in a high squeaky voice (a pathetic attempt at impersonating his elder sister) says, "I feel so good when he carries me on his back. It's so warm, soft, gentle…"

Alex dribbles on as Ellie covers her ears and keeps screaming, "SHUT UP!!" over and over.

"Face it Ellie," says Sam's voice, "You like him."

"I DON'T!!" she shouts, "I mean, I've even got a song which really puts stuff in its place." she says, defending herself.

Then the song plays by it self.

_(My nema nema, Oooh my nema nema nema_

_My nema nema, Oooh my nema nema nema)_

_I used to sit alone doing evil all day_

_But now I think that someone's gonna get in my way_

_Yeah, there's someone in my life that doesn't want me to exist_

_(My nema nema, Oooh my nema nema nema)_

_And I feel fine 'cuz I've got a nemesis_

_(My nema nema, Oooh my nema nema nema_

_My nema nema, Oooh my nema nema nema)_

_Now I hate him and he hates me _

_What a wonderful animosity_

_Besides his hat he wears no clothes_

_Now I have someone to oppose_

'_Cuz I have a nemesis_

_(My nema nema, Oooh my nema nema nema_

_My nema nema, Oooh my nema nema nema)_

Alex tut-tut's and then in a weary voice says, "How much can you lie to yourself?"

The ground on which Ellie was standing cracks open. Before she can reclaim her footing, she falls into oblivion. As she falls, Sam's and Alex's voices echo with the words, "You Like Him." The words are repeated like a very scary chant and then more voices join in – Max's, her mother's, her father's, Danielle's and many others whose she couldn't distinguish in her agitated state.

A light appears below her. She glances at it only to find herself being hurtled towards a larger than life face of Nathan at light speed. She closes her eyes-

Then when she opens them, she sees the ceiling of her room. She gets up and has a drink of water.

"What was I dreaming about?" she thinks to herself, trying her best to remember.

She finally gives up.

"I think it was a nightmare." she says to herself before yawning widely and resuming her sleep.

**Author's Note: **I apologise for such a small chapter, but since I really couldn't get Natsume to say anything nice (would he do that after she knocked him out??) so it became one really short chapter. The dream sequence is just basically what Ellie thinks about Nathan (mostly voiced by Sam and Alex – as you witnessed). She still has to really come to terms with her feelings. You'll have to wait for that!! Meanwhile, do look out for developments in the next chapter (I swear, I'll make it longer!!). Now that a basic introduction of the characters is done, I can finally begin to build on the story!!

Thanks for reading!!

P.S. : The song is from "Phineas and Ferb" and its called Nemesis. The song's pretty funny. I just felt it kinda fitted in – this is what Ellie _thinks_ she thinks about Nathan. And just for the record –

**DISCLAIMER: The song Nemesis belongs to Disney and not to me! It would be great if I owned it…but sadly, I don't.**


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